With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney and Lucasfilm officially ushered a new era of Star Wars. The studios were already planning to release a new Star Wars film once a year for pretty much forever, with the Death Star heist Rogue One next up. Now that The Force Awakens has trumped all the records to become the galaxy's highest grossing film, you can bet your bottom dollar (which you were probably going to spend on a Star War anyway) that the Star Wars universe is a higher priority than ever.

While production is currently underway for both Gareth Edward's Rogue One, which arrives in theaters December 16th, 2016, and Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII, due May 26th, 2017, it's time to get the wheels moving on Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Han Solo spinoff film, which is slated for May 25th, 2018. That means it's time to find a leading man to fill the iconic role originated by Harrison Ford. Variety reports that studio execs have settled on a shortlist of actors who are still in contention for the role, including the following:

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Image via Lucasfilm

Miles Teller (Whiplash), Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Dave Franco (Neighbors), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Scott Eastwood (The Longest Ride), Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Emory Cohen (Brooklyn) and Blake Jenner (Everybody Wants Some).

The report doesn't indicate a clear frontrunner, but further states that Producer Kathleen Kennedy will begin screen testing the new group of contenders along with Lord and Miller, with "a decision expected in the next couple weeks". The film isn't set to begin filming until next January, but the report states that Lucasfilm is casting now in order to facilitate a possible Han Solo cameo in Rogue One a la Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.

The shortlist is culled from a massive, wide-reaching casting search that saw thousands of young actors read for the role. It's easy to spot the common theme between these actors -- they're all very good at playing arrogant bravado, but few of them inspire great confidence at this point. Of course, it's impossible to say and silly to criticize casting when you're not in the room watching the screen test, but it's hard to imagine most of these actors measuring up to the inimitable performance from Ford. Of the batch, Brooklyn standout Emory Cohen is the most promising, but again, it's impossible to judge without seeing their take on the character; and anyway, Lord and Miller are the guys who make bad ideas into good movies.

What do you guys think? Do you like the direction they're going? Sound off in the comments below, and for more about the Han Solo anthology film and other works in the Star Wars universe, be sure to check out some of our recent coverage below:

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Image via Lucasfilm